


Blood In The Cut

by Inu_Sama



Series: MARVEL [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, M/M, Slow To Update, Sporadic Updates, Steve Bashing, The Stars interfere because what Steve did was NOT okay, Time Travel Fix-It, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony-centric, Unreliable Author over here, suspicious dialogue quality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2019-05-02 14:33:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14546796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inu_Sama/pseuds/Inu_Sama
Summary: Tony couldn’t stop the tears from falling, running hot tracks down his bloodied temples and into his hair. With one last painful wheeze, Tony Stark, Iron Man, was no more. Killed at the hands of those he trusted.If only that was the end.





	1. The Betrayal

He was a fool.

He could just see it now, the headlines would read ‘ _Tony Stark, so needy that you could kill him and he’d still love you!_ ’.

It was true, he still loved Steve, _Captain America_ , despite what had been done to him at the hands of what he thought was his best friend, his _brother_ . But as he lay there out in the cold where he’d been _left - dying, he was_ **_dying!_ ** _-_ Tony had time to think about things. As the Siberia climate crept into his bones through the crack in his chest - the reactor now nothing more than a hunk of broken glass, that brilliant blue light absent and leaving him feeling more hollow than when Obi had _ripped it out of his chest_ \- Tony tried not to panic.

For the first time in his life he was truly alone, no one knew he was here and he doubted Steve would tell them. He’d be too busy making sure that B-

Tony gasped as blood bubbled from his lips. He wanted to clench his chest in an effort to lessen the pain, but he couldn’t move his arms. He didn’t know if it was just because he was too weak or if it was because the suit had locked up from the cold. Both options seemed pretty shit.

Like an idiot, he’d disabled F.R.I.D.A.Y before coming here - he hadn’t wanted anyone to be able to track him, to track Steve. What a funny thought that was, huh? Until the very end he’d been busy trying to protect everyone else that he’d forgotten about himself. Again. He always put himself last, thinking that if he did everything right - did everything he could to help _them_ , they would finally accept him. Now he knew the truth, he’d been chasing the impossible. They’d never been on his side, the Avengers were a joke. They were never a team, or at least he’d never been part of that team.

He missed J.A.R.V.I.S, he missed the simple days where all he had to worry about was Palladium poisoning. Tony huffed out a laugh that morphed into a painful cough and wondered if Rhodey was looking for him. He didn’t know how much time had passed since Cap’d left, but surely his absence would be noticed by now? At the very least by the one person he _knew_ still cared about him. He wasn’t sure about Pepper, their relationship had taken a nosedive since the break up. It was then Tony realised, with bitter amusement, that he was back to square one, where all he had was Rhodey.

The only difference was that the colonel was almost as broken as he was, just in different ways. So much shit had happened since he became Iron Man, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret it. Not really. Despite all the bad he had also done some good, hadn’t he?

Tony’s vision was blackening around the edges and he knew he was near the end. He could barely feel anything but the shallow rise and fall of his breath, even the pain was fading away in the wake of icy numbness. Tony couldn’t stop the tears from falling, running hot tracks down his bloodied temples and into his hair. With one last painful wheeze, Tony Stark, _Iron Man_ , was no more. Killed at the hands of those he trusted.


	2. The revival

“...ir….SIR!”

Tony startled awake to the same pain in his chest, but without the cold of the Siberian bunker seeping into his bones. He struggled to make his eyes focus, but when he did he was surprised to see that he was in his old living room in Malibu. 

“Sir, you need to get to the workshop! Your levels are dropping - You’re DYING!” JARVIS called, sounding strangely panicked for an A.I. 

Wait…..

“JARVIS? Is that you?” Tony rasped eagerly, scratching at the cushions in an effort to sit himself upright. He looked down to see what the problem was and why it was so damn hard to make himself move. 

_ ‘Oh’  _ Tony thought, staring at the gaping hole in his chest in shock. There was clear sludge slopping about inside his chest cavity and dribbling down his stomach everytime he tried to move, making the white cotton tee he was wearing stick to his skin. JARVIS ignored him, instead opening the doors to the personal lift that went straight to the basement. To the workshop.

The workshop in his Malibu house that was destroyed five, almost six years ago….

It was hard to think through the pain, through the feeling of dying ( _ again _ ) but eventually the pieces started falling into place and Tony made himself  _ move _ . He was back, he didn’t know how or why, but he was back. He wouldn’t squander this second chance because he was too lazy to save himself. Because that’s what this was, a second chance - even if it were some messed up dream, he could make things right and he’d be damned if he didn’t at least try.

“Sir, I urge you to  _ please  _ get to the workshop. DUM-E is already waiting with the back-up arc reactor.” Tony grunted as he slid off the couch. 

“Yeah, I know J, I’m workin’ on it.” He reassured the anxious A.I as he slowly but surely made his way over to the elevator. JARVIS cheered him on, encouragements spilling from the speakers set up all around the house. It was when he was finally still as he waited for the elevator to take him down that the pain made itself known again. It was hard to breathe, like he was in a too tight shirt that was strangling him. 

“Sir, you have arrived at the basement.” J prompted, making the doors slide open to reveal his old workshop.

DUM-E rolled up, chirping and whirring in nervous agitation. The glass case holding the once obsolete reactor was clenched tightly between his two pincers. 

“Hey, baby boy. You got somethin’ for me?” Tony slurred, his vision starting to blur. With shaking hands Tony took the glass box and smashed it against the concrete. He still remembered when Pep had first presented it to him, the inscription making him laugh. 

_ ‘Proof Tony Stark has a heart’ _

He was glad she hadn’t gone through with destroying it like he’d wanted. He would have to think of a way to thank her for that. There were two things Pepper liked more than bossing people around; expensive art and shoes. Maybe he would buy back that collection he’d sold to the museum and give it to her. DUM-E poking him in the forehead brought Tony out of his thoughts and without much fanfare took his ‘heart’ and shoved it back into his chest after attaching all the wires. He heaved his first deep breath since coming back as relief flooded his system. 

“Sir, welcome back.” JARVIS whispered, the words jolting something in Tony. He looked over at one of the cameras hiding in a corner of the ceiling and prepared to say something but was interrupted when J announced that colonel Rhodes was approaching the shop. With a huff Tony dragged himself out of the elevator and onto the metal stool sitting in front of his desk. He tried to make sure to look like he  _ hadn’t  _ just been on Death’s door. 

“Let him through, J”

Rhodey’s face appeared at the bottom of the stairs, the glass panels of the workshop window losing it's privacy fog. Rhodey wasted no time in coming to his side, barely restrained panic marring his usually stony face. 

“Oh my god, Tony! Pepper called and she said that Obadiah-” Tony couldn’t hear the rest as the memories flickered through his mind.  _ ‘Oh..’ _

“ _ Oh… _ ” he whispered, feeling his own panic rising up inside him. Pepper…

Rhodey followed him as he strode over to the launch pad, not even blinking at his surprised gasp as the suit,  _ Mark 2 _ , moulded itself onto him like a second skin. 

“I’ll handle it.” He said, already making his way over to the hole in the ceiling he remembered making while he was still in the testing phase of the suit. Rhodey made a noise in the back of his throat as he watched the suit move fluidly as if it were almost… human. Then he caught up to what his best friend had actually said and felt a new kind of panic well up. 

“No-Tony, she’s already got five agents coming to arrest him! You don’t need to go.” 

Tony barely looked at him as the face plate closed. He didn’t have time for this, Pepper was in trouble. He’d deal with his other best friend later. 

“It won’t be enough. Just keep the skies clear for me.” He said in parting, shooting up out into the night sky. He knew Rhodey would be safe in Malibu, he was last time and Tony was counting on that happening again. Pepper however, was a different story. If he was even a few minutes late, it could change everything. She could be dead by the time he got there. That thought terrified him. He sped towards SI, breaking the sound barrier in his haste.

“Sir, I would advise not using the extra thrusters. This arc reactor was not built to withstand extended flight time.” J’s voice filtered into Tony’s worried thoughts and he slowed down, just a little. His boy was right, he should have remembered that this was the outdated arc and not the one he was used to. 

“What’s the percentage at?” He asked, homing in on the building he’d spent most of his childhood in as it rose over the horizon.

“43%”

“Shit, this’ll be tricky.” Tony cursed, landing on the roof. He searched for the man he used to call ‘uncle’, struggling to remember where he’d found him the last time. It was then he heard a scream and he looked over the ledge, cursing. He dropped down, landing in front of Pepper just as Stane was about to shoot her. 

“Go! Pep, GO!” He yelled, covering Stane’s line of sight as she scurried away to what was hopefully safety.

“ _ Tony~ _ ” Stane sang, deploying a missile which Tony easily dodged as he flew into the sky behind the man. 

“You should have died in that cave like you were supposed to!” Stane yelled, whipping around and levelling a thick metal hand at him. Bullets flying forced Tony to go on the defensive as he tried to lure the other man away from the street. He didn’t want civilians getting involved like last time. They needed to stay within SI’s boundaries. 

“Sir, power is at 38% and dropping.”

Tony cursed, throwing a repulsor blast into Stane’s shoulder, throwing his aim off as the next round of bullets hit the tower, shattering the glass windows. 

“Why don’t you come finish what you started then, eh?” He goaded, flying up onto the roof. As soon as he heard the heavy thud behind him, Tony shot over to the man, sending another blast to distract him as he leapt onto Stane’s back. Reaching a metal hand into the space between Stane’s head and the backplates, Tony ripped out the targeting system. He was thrown off before he could do more damage but hopefully it would be enough.

“Tony! Don’t make this any harder than it has to be!” Stane tried to shoot him while he was still on the ground, only to find his arm flailing to the left way off course. Tony grinned. 

“Ah! You little shit, you took out my aim!” He tried to fire again, only to miss again and Tony took that time to get to his feet. He was tired, but he knew Obadiah wouldn’t stop until he was dead. “Pepper!” he hissed, not wanting his voice to carry as he had JARVIS call her cell. She picked up on the first ring and shouted his name in relief. 

“Listen to me, I need you to overload the reactor in SI, can you do that for me?” He asked, dodging a swipe from one of Stane’s large metal paws. It was a close call, too close. He needed to end this now before he ran out of juice.

“ _ Obie~ _ ” Tony sung, mocking the man’s earlier good cheer, sending another blast, this time straight to the headplate. Stane growled, the sound coming out much deeper than it should have because of the suit’s speakers. 

“Okay, Tony. I’ll do it - but only if you promise to come back in one piece, okay?” Tony smiled, pleased that she was worried about him. She wasn’t like that after their break up. Tony agreed and quickly began to explain what to do while he kept Stane busy. 

“Okay, go do it. You got this, Pep.” he assured, sending his own set of bullets at Stane, despite knowing they wouldn’t do much in terms of damage. But he didn’t need to damage him, he just needed the man distracted so Pepper could set off the reactor. 

A shiver went up Tony’s spine as he continued to switch between dodging and striking, adrenaline making the tips of his fingers tingle and he couldn’t help it when his smile turned into a wide grin. 

“Come on then! Catch me!” He shouted over his shoulder, already speeding up into the sky.

“ _ Sir _ , I don’t think-” 

“Yeah, I know, baby boy. But this is the only way. Trust me.” J went silent after that, leaving the power stats glowing on the right side of the HUD. He was losing power fast. He knew Stane could fly as well, but the sound of a rocket taking off still made him shudder. All that wasted energy was disgusting. Not to mention all the shit it would be pumping into the atmosphere with every second those monstrous thrusters were activated. 

He could’ve done better,  _ did  _ do better in his later years as Iron Man, with the HulkBuster. Higher and higher they went and Tony continued to taunt the man, goading him into following him. 

It wasn’t long before Tony was caught into a deadly bear hug, but it didn’t matter - they’d hit the sweet spot. Tony laughed as ice started covering Stane’s suit and the light in the faceplate shut off. Tony thumped the head plate with his elbow to set himself free and Stane started to fall. Despite the speakers being shut off along with the rest of the suit, Tony could still hear Obadiah cursing his name. He reveled in it….until the HUD flashed and his thrusters stuttered.

“Shit!” He wanted to shout, but the air was taken from him when he, too, started to fall. He was out of power. He let himself fall a few meters at a time until he dropped back onto the roof, his skull smacking against the concrete and he felt it through the helmet. He groaned, rolling over as blood trickled down the back of his head. It throbbed with every beat of his weakened heart even as he tried to stand. Obadiah crawled out of the hole he’d made in the concrete, snarling when he saw Tony. He was standing over the reactor.

“Pepper! Now!” He shouted, sending blast after blast to keep the behemoth in place. Pepper’s strangled voice came through the other end. 

“I can’t! You’ll die!” Tony grunted in frustration as he sent a tiny missile towards Stane, watching as he caught it and it exploded in his hand instead of the spaces in his armour where Tony had been aiming. 

“ _ Virginia! _ ” He growled, the use of her name feeling like a slap in the face. With shaking hands, Pepper pressed that big bad red button and hoped to  _ God  _ Tony survived the blast.

The arc started gurgling like an upset stomach as the whirring of atoms increased to dangerous levels. Tony sent the last of the suit’s power through a unibeam to keep Stane on his knees as the reactor below them became unstable. 

“W-wha-” The reactor burst before Stane could finish his sentence and Tony was blinded. The whole building shook as a hot bright white light spilled from the roof, shooting up into the heavens. Tony was thrown back, over the ledge and sent speeding down thirty stories to land on the pavement with a sickening crunch of metal.


	3. The Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heyoooooo!
> 
> Bit of a late update, but that is an occupational hazard when it comes to my writing.
> 
> Hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

Tony looked down at the cards he’d been given, the same flimsy story written on them as last time. He had a choice to make. To become once again, the public face of his best invention, or to stay in the shadows this time to pull the strings without scrutiny? Everything would change if he did what he was told in this moment. Which also meant he wouldn’t be able to see anything coming, he would be almost as blind as the last time. 

He figured it would be better to follow his previous path as close as possible - with obvious changes of course. Knowledge was power after all, and he now had the foreknowledge to fix things, to minimise the damage. To stop Steve from fucking the Accords up again, to save not just himself but everyone else. 

So he took a fortifying breath and spoke before Christine Everhart - who just had to poke her nose into  _ everything  _ \- could continue throwing around accusations to make him look bad. 

“The truth is, I  _ am  _ Iron Man.”

The large room erupted in chaos as every reporter struggled to get closer to Tony, only to be viciously pushed back by security. He barely paid them any attention, instead letting Happy lead him out of the conference. He was tired, and the pain running up and down his arm didn’t make his mood any better. 

It was times like this he wished the Extremis serum wasn’t so fucking unstable, he could really use that healing factor right now. But the concept in itself was flawed, and in his past life he’d never figured it out - never bothered to, to be honest. There was always something else going on, something that seemed to be infinitely more important than a  _ brain teaser _ . Well, he was paying for it now, wasn’t he?

Tony sighed in relief when they pulled up at his house later that night, but it was short lived when JARVIS whispered into his earpiece. 

“Sir, a man named Fury has used Stane’s override codes to access the house.” Tony cursed, causing Happy to give him a strange look that he didn’t see as he shot out of the car and slammed the door shut a little too forcefully. The first time around he’d been curious who knew of Stane’s code, but right now he was just pissed. Whether it was at himself for forgetting again to change those fucking codes, or at the controlling bastard sitting pretty in his living room - he didn’t know. Maybe it was a bit of both.

Tony made sure to finish his burger before entering the house. 

“I’m terribly sorry, sir. I didn’t think that anyone knew of Stane’s access codes, it is all my fault.” JARVIS said remorsefully, and it snapped Tony out of the angry haze he’d slipped into. Tony pressed a finger to the earpiece, feeling like an asshole. 

“Oh baby boy, it is not your fault! I should’ve known something like this would happen, it’s not your fault at all.” He would give JARVIS the same upgrades he had in the future - which he should’ve done as soon as the whole thing with Stane was done. But he’d been distracted, like an idiot. They were quiet for a moment, Tony standing awkwardly outside his front door. Happy was long gone, leaving after a wrist flick from Tony that everything was alright.

“Did he see anything he wasn’t supposed to?” He asked, because he needed to know if Fury had gotten his sticky fingers on anything important. He already knew he would have to sweep the living room for bugs, but he would prefer it if he didn’t have to do the whole house. 

“No, Mr. Fury has stayed in the living room, sir.” Tony let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. 

“Good, that’s good.” He didn’t need SHIELD coming up with their own suits - that would be a disaster, especially with Hydra still infecting their ranks. He knew Fury was waiting for him, but Tony needed a moment to collect himself. How did he want to play this? 

He certainly wouldn’t let himself be manipulated again, but he would need the Avengers to be able to keep everybody safe. Tony took a few calming breaths, this was the first big change he would be making that could change the timeline. But it needed to be done, he couldn’t let Fury get the better of him.

Fury was standing where he’d been last time, dramatically looking out the window with his hands clasped behind his back. It reminded him of Howard in those old videos before he would turn around and greet the audience, explaining his latest invention. It soured Tony’s mood further and it was a struggle to not grab the suit and blast this asshole out of his life. But even though he hated to admit it, he needed Fury to be the one running SHIELD. He would never get anywhere if it were Hydra at the helm. It would put everyone in danger. 

“ _ I am Iron Man _ .” Fury mocked, turning around  _ (so much like Howard) _ to meet Tony’s surprisingly chilly gaze. 

“Everyone’s fascinated by Iron Man, you know.” Fury said conversationally, like he hadn’t just broken into someone’s home. Tony idly wondered what the man would do if he called the police - though, knowing him, Fury had people everywhere. Otherwise how the hell could a secret organisation stay secret without help?

“I’ve noticed.” Tony said tightly, his opinion of the man dropping with every word out of his mouth. Fury smiled and shook his head ruefully, making his way closer to where Tony had stopped on the steps into the living room. 

“Of course  _ you  _ would have.” Tony narrowed his eyes at the ambiguous statement and resisted the urge to fold his arms. That would make him come off as defensive and he didn’t want the other man to know he was getting to him  _ (just not the way Fury would be expecting) _ . He needed the upper hand in this relationship if he was ever going to get anywhere. 

“Why are you here, Fury?” Tony asked, letting some of the anger he felt come through as simple irritation. It had the desired effect as he watched Fury switch tracks, expertly hiding his surprise that Tony knew exactly who he was. Now that he was looking, he could see the webs the other was weaving. Compliments mixed in with a bit negative reinforcement and then finally….

“We could use someone like you.” ….preying on his need to be validated. Fury did his research. Tony felt slightly disgusted/grudgingly impressed  _ (just a little bit) _ . He also refused to be baited. Tony smiled pityingly, sweeping passed the man easily. 

“You couldn’t afford me, hun.” He patted a leather-clad shoulder on his way over to the bar. He only filled one glass with brandy, making it clear Fury wasn’t welcome as he settled against the aged wood and waited for his response. The vein on the man’s forehead throbbed and Tony felt a familiar sense of satisfaction. 

Before he’d always tried to get a rise out of Fury, ‘bucking against authority’ his teachers had called it. He was just never that much of a follower. He knew he could do better, did do better in most cases, and that made it hard to do what others say.  _ He could always do better, so why should he listen to them? _

“You’re making a mistake, you don’t even know what I’m offeri-” The sound of a glass being put down onto wood echoed throughout the space between them. Tony pushed off the bar and prowled over to a quickly paling Fury with all the deadly grace of a panther.

“Oh, but I do. The  _ Avengers Initiative _ , right?  _ ‘Iron Man desired, Tony Stark not recommended’ _ , wasn’t it?” Tony got to see the moment Fury knew he’d fucked up,  _ severely _ . It was gratifying, to see such a normally composed man realise he’d lost control of the situation. He’d underestimated Tony and it was going to bite him in the ass. Tony was almost nose to nose with him now as he whispered; 

_ “Get out of my house.” _

It was only when Fury was gone and Tony was down in the workshop that he realised the whole thing with ‘Natalie’ hadn’t happened yet. 

“ _ Shieeet _ .” he cursed, pulling his hands away from the hollow screens. He’d been updating a backed up version of JARVIS instead of the real one so that he didn’t make himself vulnerable to attack. Once he was done, he’d merge the two. 

“Sir, it appears the bug Mr. Fury placed is trying to hack into my systems.” JARVIS said, a questioning lilt to his voice as the code appeared in front of his creator. Tony smirked, stretching his aching back before hunching over the keyboard again. 

“Alright, baby boy. Give ‘em the run around while I peek behind the curtain, okay?” He knew most of what would be in SHIELD's files, but this served two purposes; It let Fury know that hacking was a two-way street - which would hopefully discourage any future attempts - and to see the ones he’d missed. 

He knew Fury would try to gain as much knowledge as possible after Tony’s little slip-up, so it was easy to lead the man down the right path. No doubt SHIELD’s techys weren’t nearly as good as JARVIS and would be sufficiently distracted while Tony worked the other end. It was pure good luck that he stumbled across some Hydra files. They were heavily encrypted, almost as good as his own -  _ almost _ .

It took more time than he would ever admit, but he did it. He was in. Tony knew time was running out so he skimmed through until he found something interesting. Tony had JARVIS download it before the connection cut off, either SHIELD or Hydra had fried the bug. No matter, he’d gotten what he wanted. Tony couldn’t help the grin stretching his lips as he read through everything Hydra had on the Winter Soldier Project, including the formula for their bastardised version of the Serum. 

“J, make sure this file never finds it's way out of this room.” He would have to ‘ask’ Fury for his father’s notes on Steve’s version of the Serum so he could compare and eventually  _ do better _ .


End file.
